Please find the full video here, at the bottom of the page.
This is a short, documentary-style video piece providing a glimpse into the lives of three females married around the age of 14 in Kagati village in Nepal. Disclaimer: It’s hard to watch at times.
“Too Young to Wed: Nepal” appears to have been shot with a single camera, as never more than one angle of a certain scene is shown. The lighting is all natural, which feels appropriate for a story taking place in the rural Nepalese hillsides, and it is shot entirely in a witness point of view. The combination of these things makes us spectators of life in this village — we are watching them survive, looking into their lives in what feels a very authentic way.
Our intimate look into these lives is accomplished through wide and tight angle shots. Wide-angle shots are used often to give us context or detail about the story environment, while tight shots narrow in on more poignant moments: hands working in the kitchen (02:45), a somber expression (04:17) or detritus from a ceremony (01:51). We see these two angles work together starting from the first minute, when wide-angle shots of the community are punctuated with tight shots of a young bride getting ready for her wedding ceremony.
I particularly love the way layered sounds, both narrative and environmental, are used to tell and support this piece. It’s not fancy, but it provides a very strong sense of emotion and place.
I think this is done through a great deal of sound and picture juxtaposition, the most frequent example being when the voice of the interviewee is played over visual vignettes of their daily life (for example at 01:08). This heightens our experience with this person; it helps us know them better. We also find sound/picture juxtaposition in smaller moments that strengthen our idea of where we are, for example, when the rooster crows during a shot of an earthquake-damaged building (00:16).
A series of jump cuts take us through the story by carrying us to different moments in the storyline, the day or the scene, in addition to different storylines altogether.
One of the largest transitions I noted is in Anita’s story at around 02:30: One moment she is being ornamented for her wedding, the next she is in the middle of the celebration, if we can call it that. This is a significant change in tone and scene, but it works with the support of a brief L-cut, when we hear the sound of music and horns, before we see the band and the dancing.
This scene is especially emotional, in part because of the topic, but also in part also because of the focal distance. During this scene we are viewing the story at a much closer angle, and at eye level. This gives the feeling that we are standing in this crowd of people, part of the story. The natural audio is very strong and, as is a theme throughout the piece, few bells and whistles are needed to tell the story. It’s powerful, seemingly, all on its own.
I was particularly moved by this story and it is illustrative of the kind of work I aspire to be involved with. It effectively conveys the complexities surrounding the tradition of child brides in Nepal by taking the time to follow and tell a single story over the span of some years. Another important choice was made to include distinct voices and POVs to illustrate the desperate cycle and its many impacts.
I enjoy this video’s intro. It is creative. The combination of still images and video makes this video a great multimedia pieces. I noticed there are a lot of sound leading images, water, children playing, drums, birds, etc. I love the rich red and gold color of this 16-yaer-old bride’s wedding dress. This short documentary video definitely put me on an emotional rollercoaster. Thanks for sharing !